Whether or not Arsenal are busy in the January transfer market depends heavily on the futures of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. Both players are out of contract in June and seemingly have no intention of extending their stays in north London, which may lead to the Gunners reluctantly entertaining bids for their star duo this month.

Yet even if Ozil and Sanchez stick around until the summer, Arsenal will need to replace them – and doing it in January would boost their chances of securing Champions League football for 2018/19. Attacking midfielder Arda is out of favour at Barcelona and wouldn’t cost a fortune, and the Turkey international’s energy, vision and dribbling skills would likely make him a good fit at the Emirates Stadium.

Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria)

Sampdoria have been the surprise package in Serie A this term and Torreira has arguably been their outstanding player. The all-action Uruguayan midfielder would add some much needed bite and aggression to the Arsenal midfield, with a season average of 2.6 tackles per game evidence of his ability to regain possession for his team.

Torreira isn’t just a pure ball-winner, though; the 21-year-old is a precise, if unfussy, distributor. He’s also not afraid to pull the trigger from distance: all three of his goals in 2017/18 have come from outside the box.

It’s somewhat surprising that Mina hasn’t yet made a move to Europe – the 6ft 5in centre-back is set to turn 24 later this year. Arsenal shouldn’t be put off by his inexperience on the continent, though: the defender’s aerial strength, tough tackling and speed make him the ideal target for Wenger’s side.

Barcelona are keen to bring Mina to the Camp Nou, but talks between the two clubs seem to have stalled – which could allow the Gunners to steal a march on the Liga leaders.